Patrick Gordon

Gordon, Patrick, 1635–99, Scottish soldier of fortune and Russian general, b. Scotland. After serving alternately on both sides in the war between Sweden and Poland (1655–60), he entered the Russian army (1661) and later became the devoted friend of the youthful czar Peter I (Peter the Great). The greatest service he rendered Peter was his aid (1689) in thwarting the coup by Peter's half-sister, the regent Sophia Alekseyevna, who wished to become ruler in her own right. Excerpts from Gordon's diary were published in 1859.